Moscow (Russia), Tuesday 16th July 2013: team SBK Ducati Alstare prepares to travel to Russia for round 8 of the 2013 World Superbike championship which will take place this weekend at the Moscow Raceway, a circuit that was officially opened just a little over a year ago.

Last year, when Moscow Raceway hosted the Superbikes for the first time, Carlos Checa snatched pole position having put in a strong performance during the practice sessions. Ayrton Badovini recorded a best result of eighth place, having made a very strong recovery in the second race.

The Ducati Alstare team has worked hard in preparation for the upcoming event. After the recent race at Imola two weeks ago, the team then took part in official testing followed by two days of private testing at the Misano circuit. Both Carlos and Ayrton then continued with their respective training programmes in order to arrive at the Moscow track fully fit.

Carlos Checa: “During testing in Misano I was comfortable with the bike and now I hope that the base we identified there is a real base that we can use not only in Moscow but at other tracks too. Physically I feel good, and am working hard in the gym with my trainer. The positive thing is that, despite completing 1400km between Imola and Misano, my shoulder didn’t give me any problems and so I’m pleased from that point of view. The Moscow Raceway is a unique track, small and tight, and power counts a lot on what is a long, uphill straight. Once there we need to work on the chassis, grip and manageability of the bike through the mixed sections of the track. I hope we can refine the set-up of my 1199 using our current base as a starting point and work well in preparation for the races.”

Checa’s Superbike form at Moscow Raceway:

2012: Race 1- DNF, Race 2 – 4th

Ayrton Badovini: “I didn’t go so well at the Raceway last season, I wasn’t in top form, seeing the track for the first time, I wasn’t totally at ease on the bike for some reason. This year on the other hand, thanks to all of the tests and work we’ve completed recently, we head there with a good base setting. I’m feeling better prepared, both mentally and physically, and am in good shape. So I’m more confident as we head to Russia than I was there in 2012, and maybe it’ll be easier to ride the two-cylinder than the four-cylinder bike on this tight track, we’ll soon see anyway.”

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